The Rocksmith+ Piano Buyers Guide

This article made possible thanks to contributing author Metallica93

Hello Rocksmith fans!

Ivory ticklers rejoice! Piano support is finally coming to the Rocksmith franchise at long last.

While this is obviously exciting news for many of us who’ve already dabbled in piano or are wanting to try, it’s also perfectly understandable for it to be a bit confusing for those currently without a digital piano or M.I.D.I. controller of some kind. This buyer’s guide will cover a variety of digital pianos with various numbers of keys, key types, and price ranges. I’ll also provide information based on what we do know of piano implementation in Rocksmith+ and what to possibly expect.

So, how is this going to work with the service? Well, most digital pianos can also act as M.I.D.I. controllers, so it will be as simple as connecting your keyboard to your computer via U.S.B. cable. From there, you will need to “calibrate” your piano so the service knows how many keys it should display on the screen. This will be done by us pressing the lowest and highest keys on the piano as Rocksmith+ can’t natively pull the number of keys from the device itself. That’s it! As for the screen once you’re actually in a song, the service will display a minimum of 24 keys while supporting everything from that up to a full, 88-key piano. For those unable to purchase a full-sized keyboard, Rocksmith+ will have a transcription system that will help transcribe, for instance, a song that utilizes 61 keys for your device’s limited range (e.g., if you only have 49 keys available). The note highway camera will also be adjustable so you can set it static to the song, static to your instrument, or a combination of both. Lastly, we also know that, at launch, there will be no Workshop functionality for creating our own piano arrangements (this is still in development), no microphone mode (also in development), as well as a lack of pitch and modulation wheel support.

Now, the buyer’s guide portion will cover three main categories: number of keys, key “feel”, and price range.

The number of keys might seem straightforward, but I’d recommend anyone wanting to practice outside of Rocksmith+ or who knows they’ll be sticking with the instrument for a while to not skimp on them. An 88-key piano will cover everything under the sun, from the most basic pop to the most advanced classical. 76 and 73-key pianos will also cover most everything, but, at that point? You may as well just get 88 keys. 61 keys are my barebones recommendation: a good compromise of playability and size. 48 keys are only recommended if budget and/or space are major concerns. 24 keys are absolutely not recommended unless you already own a small M.I.D.I. controller (e.g., the Rock Band 3 keyboard) and nothing else. We unfortunately just don’t know enough about the transcription system to know if it’s worth the hassle.

Key “feel” is going to sit in, for the most part, one of four areas: unweighted, semi-weighted, fully weighted, and fully weighted with graded hammer action. These basically tell us how much like an acoustic piano a digital piano’s keys feel, from not at all (i.e., unweighted) to as close as you can get on a digital platform (i.e., fully weighted with graded hammer action). This is personal preference. None are inherently worse than the others. Some may feel an unweighted M.I.D.I. controller feels “cheap” or “plastic” while others may enjoy how fast and responsive it is.

Price is obviously self-explanatory as only you will know your budget, but all pianos listed will be $750 or less. If you’re spending more than that, I’ll assume you already know what you’re looking for as options open up quite a bit after the $750-1,000 range between digital pianos, stage pianos, and larger, non-portable options. You might also want more built-in tones, additional features like Bluetooth, or availability might be an issue in your country, so I’ll include multiple pianos from multiple price points for you to compare/contrast.

Please consider the following absolute budget digital pianos (and keyboard controllers) to the point where I would heavily suggest looking at used versions of pianos covered in the next price range, first.

Casio Casiotone CT-S200: $140, 61 keys, non-weighted, will not feel like a piano, the most keys you’ll get this cheap without going into lesser-known brands without many reviews to go off of
Nektar Impact GXP49: $150, 49 keys, semi-weighted, keyboard controller (not a piano), has additional bells and whistles like modulation/pitch wheels
Yamaha Piaggero NP-12: $240, 61 keys, unweighted “touch-sensitive” keys
Alesis Concert: $270, 88 keys, semi-weighted, cheapest 88-key piano
Yamaha Piaggero NP-32: $350, 76 keys, unweighted “graded soft touch” action (will at least feel better than the NP-12)

This next price range is where I would recommend anyone serious about learning and playing piano start:

Alesis Recital Pro or Prestige: $380 or $400, weighted hammer action, Prestige will have slightly better keys and speakers than the Recital Pro
Casio CDP-S350: $450, 88 keys, graded hammer action, generally a lighter action compared to Yamaha and Roland
Yamaha P-45: $500, 88 keys, graded hammer action, very popular, different action than the P-125 and P-225 (highly recommend to do some reading or, just like guitar, go out and try to find some to play!)
Roland FP-10: $600, graded hammer action, FP series is known for having a nice heft to its keys
Casio PX-S1100: $700, 88 keys, graded hammer action, typically the lightest action between Yamaha and Roland, great sounds
Kawai ES110: $700+, 88 keys, graded hammer action, lighter action than Roland, Kawai makes great pianos, but only try to find this for $800 or less (Kawai seems to have bumped up their prices considerably since the pandemic)
Yamaha P-125: $700, 88 keys, graded hammer action, noticeable improvement over the P-45, but different style action (“GHC” instead of “GHS”)
Roland FP-30X: $750, 88 keys, graded hammer action, same great action as the previous FP series
Yamaha P-225: $750, 88 keys, graded hammer action, better action than the P-125 (will mostly come down to price and if it has any additional features you’d like)

While I would recommend the FP-30X most purely due to Roland’s PHA-4 action, please keep in mind that how you feel playing has to be taken into account just as much as the piano’s specifications. Your fingers may find a heavier action fatiguing, especially if you’re a beginner. You might not like semi-weighted keys or find Casio’s action too light to the touch to bang away on. That said, you will not go wrong with any of these pianos and they’ll more than get you through some of your favorite songs.

We’ll update this if need be and certainly when more information regarding piano support in Rocksmith+ drops, so stay tuned!